‘73 wagon front bumper

[Pepperbilly]

Found a very heavy steel plate inside the front bumper. I never knew about this and the 412 has been in the family since 1975. The rear bumper has no plate. So I am guessing this is a factory install to combat the high front end stance? Has anyone seen this before? It is interesting and maybe a good conversation piece.
Bill

[Lars S]

Intresting!
Never seen that before, my euro spec -73 dont have it, looks factory done.
Dont think its for lowering the front end but a try to tackle the US bumper or safety norms.

This is before 74 when the beefier alu bumpers where introduced on the 412

/Lars S
_________________
Porsche 914 -72, Bahia Red daily driver
VW411 2-d -70, White, sold
VW412 4-d, -73, Gold Metallic, daily driver
Suzuki T500, -69, Candy Gold, sold
Suzuki K50, -77, Black, daily driver
BMW R69S -69, White, sold
Husqvarna 118cc, -47, Black, Sold

[raygreenwood]

That is a stiffener against deformation from minor accidents.

My car has it. I will have to see if it shows up in the parts book......but my 1972 411 did not have it. I cannot remember how early or late in 1972 that car was made.....but my 1973 two door has it, my 1973 four door had it.

Why do they need it?

Now.....remember that in 1974....they went to the aluminum front bumper...with telescopic gas/oil filled mounts.
This was the latest design of the government mandated "5 mph crash survivability".

The object of the 5 mph crash bumper....was not safety. It was to prevent the car from getting damaged....beyond a specific $ amount. In Other words a simple 5mph fender bender could not total a car. It had to be kept to very minor cosmetic damage.
At one point in time later ....iirc.... there were even dollar amount maximums of damage you could sustain.

I can attest that the earlier steel bumpers with no plate inside.....if someone backed into you...or if contacted them ....had a habit of being not too tough..and too tough....all at the same time.
Wimpy enougn to crush inward in the center.....but tough enough towards the mounts to twist them inward and bend the bumper mount holes in the chassis. And....if the bumper gets dented in enough to contact the body.....lots of damage.


The later steel bumpers with the plate are tougher and sustain less BUMPER damage....ane can take more force....however.....eventually when the force gets high enough.....the force is transferred to the chassis mountjng points and the chassis starts bending.

The 1974 bumpers were revamped to be aluminum.....so during a very minor fender bender.....the cheap outer aluminum bumper starts distorting fast.....but if the energy gets high enough, the gas shock mounts travel inward to a lock point.

So early bumpers on cars in junkyards that have been hit...tend to be pretzels with more chassis damage. The middle years with this stiffener plate....the bumpers seem to be lightly bent....either fixable or serviceable...but we started seeing some defirmation at mount points......and the 1974/75....the bumper would be mangled.....the chassis usually ok....but the shock mounts permanently collapsed. They were one time use.

Ray

[Pepperbilly]

So Ray,
Thanks for your wonderful explanation. The curious thing is why no stiffener for the rear bumper? The rear bumper on mine has exactly the damage you describe. Hit right in the middle and has a ever slight bow...not bad and easily repaired. I have a ‘75 Super and the bumpers have no stiffeners. Why not? As I recall beetles never had stiffeners. What makes the 412 so special?
Bill

[NurseryWalt]

Now that I have owned a 412 for two days, I can speak of experience. In the back seat of mine there were two additional bumpers. One of them had a metal pipe inside the bumper. Are overriders normal on the front bumper or just on the back? Walter from BC, Canada

[Pepperbilly]

Walter,
That pipe in your rear bumper is for a trailer hitch. That is not a factory thing...after market install it appears. Bumper overriders were a dealer installed option front and rear which you can see on my 412. Love the color on your car!
Bill

[NurseryWalt]

Bill,
Thanks for the quick response. If you take a real close look at the license plate, you will see it is from Oak Harbour, not too far from Seattle. I have no idea about the history of this car. Bought it on a whim because I drove a 411 when I was 16.
_________________
'66 Bug with collector plate and '73 412 project

[Pepperbilly]

Walter,
These were unloved but well built cars. Was my mom’s car that we bought from Avalon Auto sales (vw dealer) here in Seattle in 1975. I was always impressed by how solidly built it was...not a rattle anywhere! Hopefully you don’t have too much rust in it. Maybe it’s been a NW car for it’s life. Then less likely on the rust. Good luck with her.
Bill

[raygreenwood]

[Pepperbilly]

Ray,
Yes, my Super has the telescoping bumper shock absorbers. But my question still remains...why would VW put a stiffener in the front bumper but not the rear on my 412? There is alot more to protect in the rear end of this car than in the front, unless we are strictly talking about the passengers.
Bill

[Lars S]

I dont have much to add here other than a pic of the tow bar that came out of a 411, wery similar to the one above.

Also the 412 was the car in the air cooled series that best could carry extra weight such as reinforced bumper...still mysterious why it did not have it at the back, that makes me believe it was for crash safety reasons more than bumper saving.


/Lars S

_________________
Porsche 914 -72, Bahia Red daily driver
VW411 2-d -70, White, sold
VW412 4-d, -73, Gold Metallic, daily driver
Suzuki T500, -69, Candy Gold, sold
Suzuki K50, -77, Black, daily driver
BMW R69S -69, White, sold
Husqvarna 118cc, -47, Black, Sold

[raygreenwood]